Argentina se convirtió en el primer finalista del Mundial de Catar 2022.

La Albiceleste venció a Croacia por 3-0, gracias a una clase magistral de Lionel Messi. El 10 anotó un gol y dio una de las mejores asistencias del torneo para guiar a sus compañeros en una victoria que tuvo el reconocimiento de Ronaldinho en las tribunas del Estadio Lusail.

Reacción de Ronaldinho al triunfo de Argentina vs Croacia

Messi comenzó la fiesta anotando desde los doce pasos, tras un claro penal cometido sobre Julián Álvarez

En su misión de llevar a Argentina a la final de la Copa del Mundo, Lionel Messi rompió otro récord en su condecorada carrera.

Luego de convertir el primero de los tres goles con que la Albiceleste venció a Croacia, el "10" se convirtió en el máximo goleador de su país en la historia del torneo.

Máximo goleador de Argentina en Mundiales

La marca de Messi se concretó en el minuto 34, luego de patear el penal que el portero Dominik Livaković le había cometido a Julián Álvarez.

El tiro de Messi fue arriba, cruzado e inatajable.

Lionel Messi's recent World Cup past has been synonymous with infamous performances from Argentina's strikers. 

In the 2014 final, Gonzalo Higuaín was Argentina's worst player, slicing a glorious opportunity wide and failing to check his run on an offside goal. In 2018, Sergio Agüero fought with manager Jorge Sampaoli and got dropped. 

After a controversial and emotionally charged quarterfinal round (who could've predicted that?), the 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinal referees have been announced before Tuesday and Wednesday's matches of Argentina vs. Croatia and France vs. Morocco, respectively.

World Cup semifinal referees

On Tuesday, the Argentina vs Croatia ref is Italian Daniele Orsato. You know he's legit because he took charge of Qatar's opener and Ecuador won it 2-0. He was also in charge of Argentina's victory over Mexico.  

DOHA - Croatia will not attempt to stop Argentina superstar Lionel Messi by man-marking him but instead will focus on immobilizing the entire team in their World Cup semifinal on Tuesday, they said.

Croatia are bidding to make it to the final for the second World Cup in a row after losing in the 2018 showcase match to France.

They stunned tournament favorites Brazil in the quarterfinals after going a goal down in extra-time but dug deep to bounce back with a late equalizer and force a penalty shootout that they ended up winning.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has entered the knockout phase, and one of the top honors players will be competing for is the Golden Boot, awarded to the player with the most goals in the tournament.

The number of assists by a player is considered in the case of a tie for goals scored. If players are tied on both counts, the winner is decided by who played the fewest minutes.

Once Marquinhos sent his penalty shot to the post, sealing Brazil's exit from the 2022 World Cup, Neymar broke into tears. The dream of lifting the most coveted trophy in sports was again unfulfilled.

Several teammates approached the PSG star, trying to solace him. Thiago Silva, Dani Alves, and Vinícius Jr. were among those patting his shoulder. However, the most touching moment in the sequence was when a small kid with a Croatian jersey ran to Neymar to console him.